Dedicated Support for Members

Full members of the DPC are entitled to up to 5 days per year of dedicated support from DPC staff. This page provides some background information on the how and what of dedicated support time from the DPC.

What kind of work can we help you with?

That depends on exactly what it is you're after, and we're more than happy to discuss the possibilities with you. We have worked on a really broad cross section of activities with our members, from in depth technical challenges to advising on the most appropriate training courses available, through to building the case for digital preservation within a department or organisation. With newer members, who are only just embarking on establishing a digital preservation capability, we often focus on activities such as: reviewing and honing business cases, developing and reviewing preservation policies, and developing and reviewing requirements for trusted digital repository procurement exercises. Small injections of DPC expertise can often be invaluable as organisations take their first steps in digital preservation. With our more established members, we may tackle more organisation specific, and often subject specific challenges.

Note that our support can be one to one with the full member organsiation, or we can work collaboratively (for example via a cross member working group), which can sometimes be an excellent use of limited resources, and one that exploits the vast wealth of knowledge across the Coalition.

Our expertise - Research and Practice at the DPC

Dedicated support for our members is faciliated by the DPC Team, but is led by our Head of Research and Practice, Paul Wheatley. Paul has over 15 years of experience of working in the digital preservation field. He has led a digital preservation team at a major UK memory institution and has worked with a cross section of organisations to solve digital preservation challenges. This experience is invaluable in supporting members, but is backed by an unrivalled depth of knowledge and expertise across the Coalition, which we can tap into to help you get the job done well.

Where do I start?

We recommend a quick phone call to chat through, in brief, the issues you would like some support with. A follow up face to face visit is also highly recommended, particularly if you're a new member to the DPC. Over the course of a few hours, our Research and Practice expert will be able discuss your needs and begin to look at solutions for you to move forward with. Having a small number of targets to address in advance of the meeting will provide a useful agenda, but also having the time to chat more widely and explore your organisational makeup and challenges can be really beneficial. A number of our members have found these opportunities to discuss digital preservation challenges confidentially with an indepedent expert and to step a little outside of the usual interactions and norms of a typical working day, to be particularly useful. They are often part guidance, based on our unrivaled digital preservation expertise, and part therapy session based on the vast experience of a Coalition that has been there and done digital preservation. The Digital Preservation Doctor is >IN<.

Practicalities

It should be noted that with a small core staff, our time is limited. Any dedicated support is subject to DPC staff availability. We would appreciate as much warning as possible for requests for dedicated support. Simply contact paul.wheatley (at) dpconline.org if you would like to book in some dedicated support time.